The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-02-12

I
On any st0ugh,on'bOttc here, 'A.gi.
| ~ Pcaehblow or mugwump, far or near, Ill.
Old Grover, thourta snidel"
CATCHING AMAILTHIEF
Before tho days Of postoillce money
orders and tho registry system, the amount
Of bank notes sent by mail was enormous.
People had to send either this way or by
express, and though every sender felt that
tho mails were not quite safe, he would
take his chances. There were many rob.
berries, as we ell know, but not ono dollar
was taken for 5000 sent. Nowadays II a
registered lettor Is missed II can be traced
pretty close to the party who took it, but
In thoso days a Government officer had to
work for days or weeks to nab the guilty
party. s[,a y
I remember that I was onco sent TO ILL.
nois to investigate tho numerous com.
plainta which had come in regarding a
certain route. This route began at Spring.
field, and extended sixty.seven miles, tax
ing IN towns which | will call Liverpool,
Abbeville, White Rock, Davisburg and
Montgomery. 1t was all Btage route, and
as the country Was well settled up, the
nails we're always heavy. Most Of the
complaints had come from citizens OF
springfield and Montgomery. These were
the two largest places, and we're at the ex.
ireme ends Of the route. Money sent
rom Springfield would not reach Mont.
gomery, and vice versa. That Ia, it would
DOT reach the hands OF the person for
whom 1t wac intended.
Iset to work believing that I had hard
Job before me, Tor all the postmastera
we're men above suspicion. | frat rode
the route several times, or until perfectly
iatisfied that the mail carriers had nothing
% do with tho robberies. Tho nearest
town to Springfield was Liverpool. Imail-
I'd q decoy. letter from there to Spring
Geld, and It was safely delivered. The
nearest town to Montgomery WIS Davis
ourg. I mailed a decoy letter from there
10 Montgomery, and it was safely deliv-
cred. That seemed to provo that the rob-
Der Yves at Abbevllle or White Rock. I
mailed from Abbeville ono way and from
White Rock the other, and after q few
lays was convinced tcat tho trouble was
IN the latter pos.oflice.
White Rock was village Of 700 inhabi-
.ante, and the postoifice was kept in the
wing of @ dry goods store. The wing had
been built on for the Office, and besides
having door from tho street there was
,econd from tho store and third from
the family setting room. This latter led
into the Office itself, and WAS used only by
the postmaster and his family. Tho post
master was man nearly sixty years old,
reasonably well of, and the first LOOK into
his face satisfied me that he could know
nothing OF the robberies. Ho had two
clerks in the store with him, but they he'd
nothing to do with the mails.
After little observation discovered
that the postmaster WIGS assisted by his
wife, woman OF about his own age, and
oy a young woman who was related to
them, but who served IS hired Girl.
Everything seemed 10 be honest and
straightforward in the Office, SO far as
could see from; the corridor, but that would
laye been the case in any event. Imailed
, decoy letter from that otics to SPRING
6eld and it passed safely. Then I mailed
one from there to Montgomery and it was
ost. In the course Of three weeks l got
three decoy letters over the route all right,
while three more were stolen, and all the
evidence seemed to point to White Rock
ds the place. .,}a
. BY carefully watching the White Rock
lfIice found that on days when the mail
reached there at II A. NJ, which was its
schedule time, my decoy letter went no
further. When the stage was late, which
was a frequent occurrence, the letters got
no further. 1 soon solved the mystery.
Ii the mail came in on time the young
lady helped to sort, wrap and distribute
it while the stage waited. If it was late
she had to be busy about the dinner and
the postmaster and his vito did the work.
was soon assured that the girl was the
guilty party, and when began to make
INQUIRIES about her found that she had
a very dissapsted brother in Springfield,
and that she wrote him at least once a
week. ~
i l went to Springfield to look him up and
found him drinking, playing billiards and
smoking cigars. Seemingly he had plenty
Of money. In all Of my decoy letters I
had, OF course, marked the bills, and, rs
luck would have it, l had not Swallowed
the Young man OVER half an hour when be
offered ono Of those bills to bartender,
and l managed to secure it in change.
Then I had him locked up, and returned
to White Rock to deal with his sister. l
first took the postmaster aside and made
myself known and showed him the proofs.
he was greatly agitated, but firm in his
belief that the girl was innocent and could
not explain matters. l held my inter
view in the kitchen. She was furiously
indignant ct first, and even when
had explained the decoy letters
and showed her the marked money she
would not yield hairs breadth. I made
a search Of her room, ard in her trunk l
found at least twenty letters and .envel.
opes, every one of which had contained
money and had been stolen from the
malls. The sight Of these broke hor down,
and she confessed OF having distracted in
all over $500, Q very dollar Of which had
como to her brother, who was her nearest
relative and beloved in spite OF his hard
character. She got of with fine, I be-
lieye, while tho brother was made acces.
sory and got sentence OF year or 80,
and the matter so worked on the mind Of
tho old postmaster: that he hanged
himself in the barn few weeks alter the
case was disposed OF. ~ \,